Global Collab
Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash
God designed humans for community. You already know this. Scripture uses the metaphor of one body with many parts everywhere—each part with different roles and skills and all of them supporting the overall mission of the body. A hand on its own cannot throw a ball and your right big toe is pretty purposeless without a connection to the rest of your foot.
But when connected and supported properly, you can pitch a curveball and run a marathon.
The same applies for faith-driven business endeavors. Investors need entrepreneurs, and vice versa. Everyone needs knowledge, wisdom, and support—all three of which often come through community and relationships.
The Global Collab is a community of people who work with incubators, accelerators, and capacity builders, dedicated to supporting Faith Driven Entrepreneurs around the world. As they support entrepreneurs, Global Collab provides a place for them to receive similar support from one another. It has grown to include 32 members from around the world who believe in the power of community and discipleship as crucial elements to effective kingdom-based entrepreneurship.
Philip Geldenhuys, one of the founding members, explained that as a faith-driven support system, the Global Collab encourages members to openly share their questions and struggles, while surrounding them with a community of understanding friends who can offer solutions or access to networks that would have otherwise gone untapped.
Geldenhuys also helps to lead Triga, an accelerator in South Africa, where he knows firsthand the value of a faith-based support system for entrepreneurs. A graduate from Praxis Labs, he took his passion and knowledge to Africa to bring a similar program to African entrepreneurs, connecting budding entrepreneurs with experienced mentors who will support and affirm them on their journey.
Recognizing the challenges to African entrepreneurs—significant opportunity and wealth gaps, educational disparities that fall along racial lines, and difficulty accessing resources—Geldenhuys knows as well as anyone the importance of a solid community of wisdom and support.
But regardless of geography, some universal struggles challenge all entrepreneurs. Geldenhuys noted that one of the biggest problems for entrepreneurs in this space is finding funding and leveraging resources effectively—especially for those operating in emerging or frontier markets. The Global Collab functions as a working group that enables growth for entrepreneurs both professionally and personally—through a supportive network of seasoned entrepreneurs with a variety of experiences.
The Global Collab provides a level of discipleship and mentorship for entrepreneurs around the global. There is accountability and encouragement to be found when believers get together. We see throughout Scripture that discipleship and accountability are important components of these relationships, useful for edification, teaching, and comforting. And these benefits are not limited to the functions of church congregation but reach the Body of Christ globally and in diverse industries.
Geldenhuys noted that one of the most significant benefits to the Global Collab is simply the recognition of a shared story. CS Lewis once said that “friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one!’” Being a part of a working group like Global Collab is the same; a group of faith-driven professionals who can support one another as they press on toward the goal, even if that is simply saying “I understand; I’ve been there, too.”